Fethullah Gulen dies at 83; cleric had denied coup role
Fethullah Gulen passed away at the age of 83, Turkish media reported on Monday. Gulen was an Islamic preacher accused by Ankara of organizing a failed coup in 2016 against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The cleric had been residing in the United States.
Media related to Gulen reported that he died on Sunday evening at a hospital in Pennsylvania due to cardiovascular failure.
Gulen led the Hizmet (Service) religious movement, inspired by Sufism. Ankara refers to Gulen's network of supporters as FETO and considers it a terrorist organization.
The Turkish authorities accuse Gulen, who has been voluntarily exiled in the United States since the late 1990s, of a long-term campaign to weaken the state by infiltrating its institutions, including the military, police, and judiciary.
Failed coup in 2016. Thousands of people were injured
On the night of July 15 to 16, 2016, a group of officers from the Turkish Armed Forces attempted a coup to overthrow the president. About 250 people were killed, and over 2,000 were injured during the coup attempt.
The cleric, once an ally and later an enemy of Erdogan, denied any involvement in the 2016 coup attempt and emphasized that the movement he led is a network of peaceful non-governmental organizations.
After the failed coup in Turkey, there were mass arrests and dismissals from work. Critics of Erdogan maintain that the leader used the coup attempt as a pretext to crack down on political opponents.
